Insurance Pro Blog Podcast | Life Insurance and Annuity Insights

 

When it comes to battles in the life insurance world, none rivals the one that exists between those squarely in favor of whole life insurance always being the best option versus indexed universal life insurance.

And it’s a debate and/or fight that mostly serves to confuse consumers.

So, we thought it would be appropriate to address the issue in our third episode of the Insurance Pro Blog Podcast.

Not to mention it gives you a great excuse to skip out on family obligations.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Did you know that not all life insurance policies were created with the same intention? No, I'm not referring to the difference between whole life insurance and term life insurance. That's a pretty obvious difference. What's less obvious is the difference that exists between different whole life insurance policies. And that complexity actually exists on ... Keep Reading

 

Did you know that not all life insurance policies were created with the same intention? No, I’m not referring to the difference between whole life insurance and term life insurance.

That’s a pretty obvious difference.

What’s less obvious is the difference that exists between different whole life insurance policies. And that complexity actually exists on two levels.

*  A whole life policy issued by Mutual of Omaha isn’t going to accomplish the same cash value growth intention as one issued by Mass Mutual.

* Deeper down the rabbit hole–let’s consider a common whole life product that’s sold by Mass Mutual, the Legacy 100. Two agents can both show you a Legacy 100 policy and get different results. As a matter of fact, we’ve discussed this issue before: The Third Dimension of Cash Value Life Insurance.

That being said, there’s a certain degree of creativity and knowledge that a competent agent must possess to make a policy hum…if the intended goal is to maximize the return on cash.

There is a coordination of rules that come into play. Each company has its own internal rules/guidelines as to what they allow and the various regulatory agencies also have rules. We have to be aware of both.

It’s All the Same…Right?

You would assume that any life insurance agent that comes knocking on your door would understand how this all works…right?

We wish that were the case. If it were, we’d see a whole lot less policies that were poorly implemented. We’d also see a lot fewer unhappy people that have watched many thousands of dollars evaporate to pay for things they didn’t want.

What you will find out when working the typical agent (one who doesn’t have a real working knowledge of policy design) is that they can’t adequately explain how it all works.

I know it’s all to popular in the insurance industry to adopt a “I don’t build’em, I just fly’em” sort of bravado. That’s okay for some things. I don’t really need to know how a pair of Alden shoes are built down to the cork bed insole.

I can accept the fact that they last a long time, wear incredibly well, and are easily restored by the manufacturer.

But I’m only going to shell out a few hundred bucks for them.

However, when you’re talking to someone who’s thinking through a multi-year commitment of $50,000 per year going into a life insurance policy, there’s a chance they’re going to have some questions about the details.

That’s not unreasonable. It’s a decision that should be deliberated a bit and more than anything, you (the client) should feel comfortable with understanding that you’re making the best decision for you.

The Example We Mention in the Episode

I hope you’ll listen to the entire episode to hear more of our commentary. As usual, we’re not at a loss of things to add to this conversation.

If you think we may be able to help you, please contact us, we’re more than happy to hear from you.

 

Insurance Pro Blog podcast episode number one…Why Life Insurance? For those who don't know, or even those who think they know, we'll tell you clearly…we do actually own and operate a life insurance practice. We sell permanent life insurance, cash value life insurance, or… if you wanna get super-technical and really geeky–non-forfeiture benefit life insurance ... Keep Reading

Insurance Pro Blog podcast episode number one…Why Life Insurance?

For those who don’t know, or even those who think they know, we’ll tell you clearly…we do actually own and operate a life insurance practice.

We sell permanent life insurance, cash value life insurance, or… if you wanna get super-technical and really geeky–non-forfeiture benefit life insurance (disregard that one).

But Why? Why would anybody dedicate their life to selling life insurance?

That’s for people with plastic briefcases, polyester pants and white patent leather shoes…right?

We’ve traded in our flip charts and 20 page questionnaires for this website. Turns out lots of people want to buy life insurance if you take the time to explain why they should consider it.

And no, I don’t mean regurgitating information from the marketing collateral. I mean really explaining the benefits, breaking down the numbers, and then helping them navigate the process.

It may surprise you but very few of the people who come to us have any interest in buying life insurance. So, that begs the question…why would they?

Ahhhh…

Certain types of life insurance (participating whole life insurance and indexed universal life insurance) can be manipulated in a specific way to rapidly accumulate cash and have the ability to be used for whatever you want (no 59 1/2 early withdrawal penalty like an IRA).

It can be used to provide a safety net, funding source for your next big investment idea, for retirement income…literally anything you can dream up.

People that are looking for that sort of financial vehicle comprise well over 95% of our practice.

So, we thought that if we’re going to do a weekly podcast, we should just talk about this. The episodes won’t be too long, no more than a half-hour in most cases.

And our hope is that we give more people, more of what they want to hear from us.